Hanna Wilberg’s research interests lie mainly in three areas: administrative law and administrative justice, social security law, and the tort liability of public authorities. She also has an interest in public law more generally, particularly statutory interpretation, Bill of Rights, discrimination and Treaty of Waitangi issues. She has published in leading UK and Australian journals and edited collections in these areas. In her administrative law work, one of her main objectives is to help increase the availability of scholarly analysis of New Zealand law in this area, informed by engagement with relevant overseas jurisdictions. In her work on tort liability of public authorities, she addresses an audience across the main common law jurisdictions.

Her book Administrative Law in Aotearoa New Zealand (Hart Publishing, 2025) has been recognised by the JF Northey Memorial Book Award for 2025, awarded by the Legal Research Foundation. She is also the New Zealand Law Review’s contributor of scholarly reviews of recent developments in Administrative Law.

Hanna's new teaching initiative since 2021 is a course on Social Welfare Law, Policy and Action. This includes a clinical component, offering students the opportunity to write submissions on applications for review of decisions about welfare benefits and grants under the Social Security Act. 

Before joining the Auckland faculty in 2004, Hanna taught at Southampton University in the UK. She was a research assistant to Professor Paul Craig at Oxford; a Judges' Clerk for Richardson P and Tipping, Blanchard, Keith, Thomas, Gault and Henry JJ at the Court of Appeal in Wellington; and practiced law at the Crown Law Office.

At Auckland, events that Hanna has organised or co-organised include workshops on NZ Administrative Law in November 2025 and February 2020, a workshop on Jerry Mashaw's new book Reasoned Administration (February 2016), the NZ Administrative Law conference and workshop (January 2015), the LRF conference on Judicial Review in Commercial Cases (2011), a NZ Public Law Colloquium (2011), and a symposium on Public Law in Three Nations (2010). She served as the co-editor of the New Zealand Law Review from 2008 to 2013.

Hanna currently serves as the Associate Dean (Equity and Diversity) for the Law Faculty, a post she also held in 2017-2018.

Hanna was the Robert S Campbell Jr Visiting Fellow at Magdalen College, Oxford in 2023, a Herbert Smith Visitor at the University of Cambridge in 2014, a visitor at the University of Toronto in 2014, and a visiting fellow at the Australian National University in 2007.

Distinctions/Honours:

- 2025 JF Northey Memorial Book Award (Legal Research Foundation) for the best law book published by a NZ-based author, for her sole-authored book Administrative Law in Aotearoa New Zealand (Hart Publishing, 2025)

- 2025 Faculty of Law Sustained Research Excellence Award

- 2018 Sir Ian Barker Published Article Award (Legal Research Foundation) for best article or essay published by a NZ-based author, for “Interpretive Presumptions Assessed against Legislators’ Understanding” in Elliott, Varuhas and Wilson-Stark (eds) The Unity of Public Law? Doctrinal, Theoretical and Comparative Perspectives (Hart, 2018) 193.
- 2016 Faculty of Law Sub-Professorial Research award
- 2011 Sir Ian Barker Published Article Award (Legal Research Foundation) for best article published by a NZ-based author, for “In Defence of the Omissions Rule in Public Authority Negligence Claims” (2011) 19 Torts Law Journal 159.
- 2000-2002 Keith Murray Senior Scholarship (Lincoln College, University of Oxford)
- 2000 Ethel Benjamin Prize (NZ Law Foundation) co-winner
- 1999 Cleary Memorial Prize (NZ Law Society)
- 1996 Brookers Prize for best Honours dissertation in Law (University of Otago) for "Damages in Public Law"